By Jonty Ralphsmith
Devon Meadows face its biggest test of the season this Saturday against Chelsea at Glover Reserve.
The two clubs occupy first and second spot on the Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League table with percentages of 222 and 221, having clearly separated themselves from the rest.
They’re the two clubs which opposition teams set themselves to throw their best punch at.
While Devon Meadows had a hiccup while missing personnel against an Edithvale-Aspendale side which plays its home ground well, Chelsea remains the only undefeated side.
The Panthers will be hoping to take critical lessons out of the late stages of that contest, where Joel Hillis stood up enormously with the game on the line, but had too few mates.
It’s a game which will inevitably come down to moments and Devon need to stand up and deliver.
Brendan Hermann has been playing strong footy across the past month and Nick Battle stood up to the Somerville challenge two weeks ago; that pair will have a huge challenge against a midfield group high on confidence.
The slightly undersized backline has clicked beautifully this season but faces its toughest test on Saturday.
They work for each other and are tireless in their repeat efforts but will need to set themselves for a dogfight against a team that has made a habit of breaking the century this season.
The winner is set to spend the middle part of the season viewed as premiership front-runners.
Pleasingly, the Panthers have shown in the last fortnight that they can adapt to a different forward setup, and are multi-pronged, kicking 35 goals across that period after struggling in Patrick Ryder’s first week out of the team.
Dean Kent’s absence with an injury sustained in that game against Edi-Asp has resulted in Dylan Gregson and others stepping up to set the backline up structurally which will prove beneficial upon his return.
Both are coming off confidence-affirming victories against bottom teams and will have undoubtedly been setting themselves for this occasion across the past fortnight.
Bring on Saturday!
